Soul's Goodbye
by Lucyrne
Summary: "Alright," Soul said, capturing the room's attention. "I, um, I wanted to talk to everybody one on one before I left." A sad but hopeful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I just feel like after all we've been through together, I owe you guys this much." Maka inhaled sharply, both dreading and eagerly anticipating what grand goodbye he had in store for her.
1. Soul's Goodbye

T**he One With Soul's Goodbye, based upon a "Friends" episode.**

Contrary to its name, it was unusual for a party at Gallows Manor to embody the solemn joylessness of an execution. Maka, at least, could not bring herself to feel anything more than the dread of the chopping block.

Soul was leaving.

Why would she have fun a party celebrating that _Soul was leaving?_

At his coronation, Kid announced that Soul was the Last Deathscythe. Now that Shibusen was allied with the witches, it could no longer condone the hunting of witches to create more deathscythes. But it wasn't so simple to deconstruct an institution that had been in place for so long. Deathscythes were appointed around the world for special op missions and general peacekeeping. Kid planned to phase out this system for advanced weapon/meister pairs eventually, but it was too soon, too soon to make such a radical change. World leaders wanted to have a regional deathscythe at their beck and call, and after the Battle on the Moon, Kid didn't have a large enough corps of three-star meisters to placate them.

Moreover, Marie was seven months pregnant. Oceania wasn't a large or particularly dangerous region, but it needed its deathscythe.

It infuriated Maka that Kid would even request that Soul leave, let alone order him to, but what stunned her into silence was Soul's immediate agreement.

"It's the next step, isn't it?" Soul had said. "I went Shibusen, I became a Deathscythe. Becoming an independent weapon is next. I've-I've made something of myself." He sounded absolutely astounded as he spoke.

"This is amazing," Maka agreed halfheartedly. She noticed that Soul was searching her face, perhaps for more enthusiasm, and she dredged up any trace of positivity she could."You becoming a deathscythe that surpasses Papa-it's a dream come true," she said. "When he retires, you can always come back here and take over his post."

Soul shook his head. "Kid made it sound like Spirit wasn't going to retire for a long time, and then there's Marie. He can't have three deathscythes in one region."

After that the discussion petered off completely. Weeks passed without even a mention of Soul's upcoming transition.

Maka was by nature open and passionate, yet she quickly found that discussing or even thinking about Soul's imminent departure caused her throat to thicken and her eyes to water. Soul, too avoided the subject, opting instead to stare into space with a worried look on his face, trapped in his own world. Even though they still lived together, though they still bumped elbows in their tiny kitchen and took turns using the shower, it was like a cavernous rift had opened between them, a rift Maka could not traverse no matter how hard she tried.

Before the party, the pair seemed to rally. They fought about whether Maka's ankles looked fat in her sandals, whether Soul should wear something more high-class than a band T-shirt, whether the guest of honor should arrive 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late. They shouted, they laughed. It was like old times, and as Soul drove them to the Manor on his motorcycle, Maka holding onto him in the backseat, it hit Maka that their old life together was truly a thing of the past. Soul was flying out to Shibusen's Oceania office the next day. Registered for her first semester of college in the fall, Maka remained tied to Death City. This was their final ride.

She clung to him. She wondered if he would get mad if she buried her face in his neck to memorize the smell of his skin and the feel of his leather jacket. Wondered whether he would stay if she begged him to, or if he would at least explain his motivation. She held him tighter.

At the Manor it was clear that Kid tried to put on a real party, he really did. He decorated the ballroom with streamers, catered a buffet of food and drink, and carefully placed coasters throughout the room for his friends to hopefully use. French doors leading to a balcony were left open, allowing soft desert wind to flutter inside. The atmosphere was festive, but the undercurrent of nostalgia and melancholy was palpable.

Their core friend group-Kid, the Thompsons, Black Star, Tsubaki-were all present, all wearing happy faces tinged with a little sadness. They were not as crushed by the news as Maka, but they were still sad to see Soul move on.

"Alright," Soul said, capturing the room's attention. "I, um, I wanted to talk to everybody one on one before I left." A sad but hopeful smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I just feel like after all we've been through together, I owe you guys this much."

Maka inhaled sharply, both dreading and eagerly anticipating what grand goodbye he had in store for her.

* * *

The first to receive his personal goodbye was Kid. Seeking privacy, Soul and Kid went onto the empty balcony and shut the french doors. They were still visible through the glass doors, but their conversation would at least remain confidential.

"I feel guilty," Kid admitted. "It doesn't sit well with me to just send you away. If you change your mind, I'm sure I can figure out an alternative-"

"Nah man," Soul said. "You're Lord Death. You have to make these decisions."

Kid leaned forward, suddenly urgent. "Tell me this Soul-" Kid met Soul's eyes. "-Have you packed yet?"

Soul grinned-Kid never changed. "Yup. Got two checked bags and a couple boxes Maka is going to ship for me after I leave. It's all done."

"And your carry-ons?"

"Packed, and my travel documents are in a plastic bag in the order that I'll use them."

Kid's yellow eyes brimmed with tears, and he placed his hands on both of Soul's shoulders, full of pride. "I have nothing left to teach you."

* * *

Kid returned to the group with swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He clearly had only just returned from the brink of an emotional meltdown, and Maka wondered what it was that they had even talked about. If Kid was devolving into tears after one of Soul's talks, how was she going to fair when it was finally her turn? The two boys fist bumped with both hands simultaneously.

Anticipation made the hairs on Maka's neck rise, and she waited for what surely would be Soul's summons to the balcony. Instead, he jerked his chin towards Patty, who followed him outside.

* * *

"In six months the statute of limitations runs out and I can travel internationally again," Patty said when they arrived on the balcony. "So I'll definitely visit."

Soul wasn't sure if this was a joke or not, but he chuckled all the same. Patty reached into her pocket and retrieved a small plastic baggie. Inside was a used q-tip and an old, bloodied bandage. "I know we weren't supposed to give you goodbye presents, but I couldn't resist," Patty said.

"Wow." Soul took the baggie from Patty and held it between two fingers. He tried to look grateful, or even a little happy, but everyone had a maximum bullshit limit, even Soul Eater Evans. "Did you fish this out of the trash or something?" he asked quizzically.

"They're my DNA samples," Patty explained. Soul scrunched up his face and held the baggie even further away from his body. "When technology catches up with the theory, you can use it to make Patty clone. That way you don't have to miss me."

It was actually a pretty sweet gesture, even if it was crudely executed. "I'm going to throw this away," Soul said. "But the thought's really nice." Patty beamed at him.

* * *

Patty's usual bubbliness had deflated by the end of her private chat with Soul. She was wiping her eyes as she returned to the group, giving Soul one last wistful wave. The younger Thompson lasted longer than Kid did before shedding tears, but she too fell victim to whatever spell Soul had put on his friends.

"Oh my god he took down Patty," Liz said, horrified. "I'm the crier in the family, oh god, oh my god..."

"Yo," Soul called. "Liz, you want to talk for a sec?"

She followed Soul back to the balcony. At this point, the group had filled their plates with buffet food and taken position near the balcony, waiting for Soul's summons, watching each discussion take place through the glass doors. It made Maka anxious, watching each talk go down without being able to hear the details of what was said, but at least she had the support of all her friends who were waiting alongside her.

"Are you wearing waterproof mascara?" Patty asked Maka.

"No-"

"You're so screwed."

She really was. If Patty and Kid were sobbing over whatever Soul said to them, Maka was going to need to be taken away in a stretcher.

Through the french windows they saw Soul start to say something to Liz, only to be interrupted by Liz's instantaneous bawling. She flung herself at Soul, crying into his shoulder and he patted her on the back, bewildered. Liz's talk with Soul was by far the shortest. In five minutes she was back inside moping by her sister, mascara running down her face, speaking in incoherent sobs that only Patty could interpret.

* * *

After leading Tsubaki to the balcony, Soul did not get a chance to say anything before Tsubaki gave him her own spiel.

"Let me just say something, because once we get into this I might cry," Tsuback said in a rapid string of words. She took a deep breath; this was obviously something she had prepared. "I just want to say that I love you, I'm going to miss you, and I'm so sad you're leaving."

Many beats of silence passed between them. Soul shifted uncomfortably, trying to read Tsubaki's serene expression. "Is that it?" he asked.

"Yes," Tsubaki said. Her lower lip began to quiver, and her mask of tranquillity slipped as her eyes became watery. "I think I need a hug."

Soul gave her a toothy grin and held his arms wide. "C'mere Tsu."

* * *

It baffled Maka how everyone kept returning from these speeches so weepy and emotional spent. Soul wasn't a heart-to-heart type of guy. The way he was conducting these individual farewells emphasized the finality of leaving, the reality of not seeing the people who cared about him for months, maybe years. Maka sat in a satin chair by the buffet table, but she had touched no food. She simply had no appetite for anything but Soul's voice and deep red eyes.

They were looking through the french windows again, watching as Soul and Black Star talked on the balcony.

"You're next," Kid said, glass of champagne in hand. "He saved you for last. You ready?"

"I don't think so," Maka replied. She had never felt so unprepared for anything in her life.

"Oh, you're definitely not," Liz said. Her makeup was still extremely smudged, but her mood improved once Kid saw fit to open the champagne. "Black Star seems to be taking it well, though."

It was true, the talk Soul was having with Black Star seemed to be the most jovial talk of the night. They laughed, punched each other's arms, high-fived. It was like they were packing years of bonding and brofests into a single conversation. They finally hugged, clapping each other on the back three times, and grinning as they broke apart.

As Soul turned to head back inside, Black Star hitched a leg over the balcony railing, preparing to vault himself over the side.

Tsubaki shot out of her seat. "No, no, no!"

They watched Soul whirl around and grab Black Star by the shoulders, yanking him away from the balcony edge. With much struggle, he dragged the distraught ninja rushed over to her meister, speaking softly to calm him down and keep him from darting outdoors again.

As Black Star mournfully ate a plate full of appetizers while Tsu held his hand, Maka awkwardly watched her weapon. This was it. She was the next one, the next person with whom Soul would have a personal, heartrending talk.

Soul finally met her eyes, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. "So I'm gonna take off."

Maka blinked. "What?"

"I'm heading out. Got a big day tomorrow, figured I'd skip the champagne fest and just sleep." To all of their friends, he said "Thank you guys so much. You mean a lot to me, and I'm going to miss getting together like this all the time." The others were speechless as Soul wordlessly placed his plastic plate in the trash. He gave the group one more grateful look. "Have a good night, you guys."

Hands firmly in his leather jacket pockets, Soul hurried out of the room, heading down the grand staircase and out the front door, obviously more than eager to leave. Maka was numb. Had they grown so apart that he would just up and leave without a proper goodbye? Was this snub how he wanted her to remember him? She looked helplessly at her friends, all of whom stared at her with guilty eyes.

"I don't get a goodbye?" Maka said quietly.

"Lucky," Black Star muttered jealously.

Tsubaki, already in consolation mode, was at Maka's side. "Oh Maka, maybe with all of your history he thought that it was implicit."

Maka's shock and heartache gave way to cold, bitter outrage. "Well it needs to be plicit!"

"Maybe he was spent from our talks," Liz offered. "It was really intense. He just ran out of emotional energy."

Maka could not help but raise her voice at Liz. "But don't I deserve something? You all get hugs and tears, and I get nothing? Don't pretend you deserved a goodbye more than I do."

"Well, what can you do about it?" Kid asked. "Chase after him and demand a goodbye? You have more pride than that."

"Like hell I do!" she screeched.

Maka stomped through the hall, down the stairs, and out the door with unprecedented speed. She disobeyed the sign that stated "Do not walk on the grass" in order to cut across the green and intercept Soul before he reach his bike at the end of Kid's gravel driveway. When she had almost caught up with him, Maka could no longer stand to contain her simmering rage.

"Soul Eater!" Her fists were shaking almost as much as her voice. Soul turned around at the sound of her harsh voice, surprised. "I don't get a good bye?"

Soul looked both confused and stricken. "What?"

"Everyone gets a goodbye but me?" Agitation and anger crept into Maka's voice. She advanced upon him, trapping the weapon by his motorcycle. "What do I have to do to get a goodbye from you? Be your best friend? Uh, live with you? Turn you into a deathscythe? _Risk my life for you?_ Oh wait a second, wait a minute, I did all those things…"

Soul reached out to touch her forearm, "Maka-"

She swatted his arm away. "Oh, maybe it's me, maybe I'm just not giving the Last Deathscythe the credit he deserves." Maka's voice had grown hoarse with emotion, and tears budded on the corners of her eyes. "It's just so hard, isn't it, to say goodbye to five people. And it's just impossible to say goodbye to a sixth person, even if that person has cooked your meals and done your laundry and, and danced with you in the depths of your soul…"

She looked down and inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself. This was all too much. Looking up, she flashed Soul a bitter smile. "You know what?" she said with a quiet, quivering voice. "I can't believe, after all we've been through, this is how you want to leave things between us. I'm staying here overnight, so just leave your keys under the mat after you go. Have a great time in Oceania."

Maka turned on her heel, resolute, and stalked back towards the Manor gate. She had only taken a few strides forward when she heard quickening footsteps pounding into the gravel.

"You really think I didn't say goodbye because I don't care?" Soul bellowed.

Maka had pissed him off, and she was glad for it. She whirled around to meet him, only to see that he had already caught up to her completely. Their faces were inches apart. She gave him a harsh glare. "That's what it seemed like," she said.

His face was a map of pure fury. "I can't believe that after all these years, you still don't know a goddamn thing about me."

She almost staggered backwards, hamstrung by this vile slander, but Maka held firm. "Fine," she said. "Then why didn't you say something?"

"Because it's too fucking hard Maka!"

Swallowing, Maka finally looked at Soul without the colored lenses of her outrage and longing. The pain in his voice, the raw emotion stirring in his eyes, it was so obvious now. Blinded by her own feelings, she had missed it the whole time. Her face, already flushed with anger, felt even more hot as she realized just how upset wreck her weapon had become.

"I can't even begin to explain to you how much I'm gonna miss you," Soul said raggedly. "When I think about not seeing you every day, it makes me want to tell Kid to fuck himself and _just not go._ If you think that I didn't say goodbye to you because you don't mean as much to me as everybody else, you're wrong." Soul paused to swallow, and his voice became steel. "It's because you mean more to me. So there, there's your fucking goodbye."

Trembling with anger, Soul turned to stalk back over to his bike, and Maka found herself running to catch up with him. She was dimly aware of the dampness gathering around her eyes. "Wait, Soul!"

Soul, now ready to mount his bike, scowled at her. "What?"

"You-you keep," Maka was shaking so much from frustration that she could hardly speak. "You can't just-"

"What?"

Mako jumped on her tiptoes and threw arms around her weapon. She squeezed her eyes shut and closed the distance between their lips, kissing him on the mouth. Her boldness paid off when one of his hands found her waist to pull her closer, and the other cupped her cheek.

Later, when they lay in a tangle of bed sheets and sighed in the darkness, neither had thought the act of love had ever been so sweet or so full.

* * *

She woke up smiling.

Soul's room was nothing but a repository of boxes and packed luggage, so they spent the night in her. Maka awoke briefly several times in the early morning, only to fall back asleep, satisfied by the warmth of his chest. The last time she woke up, her cheek felt only the coolness of her pillowcase.

She rose from bed, suddenly naked and shy, and picked up a discarded shirt off the floor. Was it ok to greet him while wearing something of his? Had they reached that point? At any rate, she slipped it over her head anyway and made her way into the kitchen. He was at the stove, stirring a pot of instant ramen in only a tshirt and boxers. The breakfast of champions, he had always said. Ramen for breakfast always grossed Maka out, but watching him there, stirring his breakfast like old times, it seemed so right. This was where he belonged, and this was where he was going to stay.

Soul noticed her over her shoulder, standing with her hair in disarray and wearing only a wrinkled t-shirt, and his grin made her want to melt into a puddle on the floor. He mouthed a silent 'hey' to her, and she smiled and mouthed 'hey' back. Still confident from crossing a dozen lines the night before, she strode over to give him a peck on the lips, but Soul's arm snaked around her waist, allow him to lean in and deepen the kiss. Her face and neck were flushed when they finally broke apart.

"Last night was-"

"It really was," Maka agreed.

Soul laughed under his breath. "You know, I woke up with the biggest smile today."

"Me too!" Maka said. She looked down, suddenly self-conscious. "You know, it was like one of those things that you think is never going to happen, and then it does," Maka looked up at her weapon, eyes full of starlight and love. "And it's everything you want it to be."

Soul reeled her in for a hug, and Maka laid her face against his chest. "I know," Soul said. Maka buried her face further into his shirt, memorizing his natural scent.

"It was just," Soul said. "the perfect way to say goodbye."

The ramen was ready, and Soul let her go to strain and eat his noodles. Though he was still only three feet away, Maka felt the rift rising between them again. The scent lingering on his clothes already seemed stale, his smiles fleeting. She kept herself together long enough to make it to the bathroom, where the roar of the shower overwhelmed her senses and disguised her tears.


	2. Chapter 2

After her shower, Maka confined herself to her room so she didn't have to watch Soul gather the last of his things and move his bags to the doorway. She needed to get a grip. She needed to stay composed so she could support his decision like a best friend and partner would.

Really, it didn't matter how badly she wanted him to stay or how twisted it made her feel to watch him go. They crossed every line last night, and even then he _still _wanted to leave. The event that had been both her making and her undoing was to him 'the perfect way to say goodbye.' If that was all Soul wanted to make of it, then that was all it was.

Maka finally emerged from her room when Soul's cab to the airport arrived. He smiled at her to hide the hurt in his soul, and she did the same.

"Maka, last night…" In their embrace, Soul's hand rubbed small circles between her shoulder blades. "I'm never gonna forget it."

She nodded and buried her face into his chest. They swayed in the doorway together, intertwined. In his arms, Maka felt the most peace and stillness she had ever since Soul agreed to replace Marie.

After they broke apart, the impetuous to keep Soul here and to stop this horrid thing she started overwhelmed the meister. "Soul…" she said in the most minute voice she could muster.

Her weapon partner had long attuned his ears to pick up on even a wisp of her voice, and he immediately turned around in the doorway. "What is it?"

Her words caught in her mouth. Soul was giving her _that look, _the one where his eyes burned like flaming coals and she just knew he would do whatever it was she asked of him. Hell, she could probably get on one knee and propose to him and he would still drop all of his bags, cancel all of his flights, change all of his plans to do as she asked. All she had to so was to take the first step, make the first move.

But that would be manipulative and unfair. Taking advantage of Soul's loyalty to satisfy her need for intimacy was something Maka would never ever do. "I lost my train of thought," Maka said. He nodded, obviously a little disappointed.

"Are you sure you don't want to see me off at the airport?" Soul offered with a tinge of hope.

Maka shook her head. "This is hard enough as it is."

They embraced one final time before Soul swung the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder and started down the hallway. Maka watched him in the doorway until he disappeared down the stairwell, and closed their—her—apartment door.

She was curled up in her bed smelling the pillow case that smelled of _him _when she heard a knock. Hoping her eyes weren't too puffy or bloodshot, Maka ambled out of her room to answer it. Liz and Patty Thompson stood solemnly on the other side of the doorway with a bag of chips and Twix Minis.

They told her that Kid was currently absorbed in some important Lord Death business, and Black Star was moping in his apartment while Tsubaki fed him comfort food. While Maka knew that Soul and Black Star had a special, brotherly bond, she could not help but resent the ninja's over-the-top grief. He may have lost a bro, but he did not lose his other half.

Even thinking about the reality of Soul being gone chilled her. The apartment felt so empty without her weapon's wavelength buzzing in the next room.

The events from the night before tumbled out of her mouth. Maka had always envisioned that the day she told her friends about her first sexual experience would be a day of cheering and celebration, but Patty just handed Maka the whole bag Twix Minis and muttered, "What a dick."

"His flight hasn't taken off yet, right?" Liz said after Patty popped open some barbecue chips.

"No, he has a while. Security is tight these days and he wanted a cushion," Maka answered. Her voice was devoid of inflection or emotion. Better to keep it in than to spill it all out.

"Maybe, this is good," Patty suggested uncertainly. Maka gave her friend a blatantly skeptical look. There was truly no silver lining here. "You've never looked at anybody else because you were always hung up on Soul. Maybe now that he's gone, you can finally move on. Meet new people."

"She's right," Liz said with a nod. "This is your chance to get over him."

Maka stared forward, entranced by nothing at all. "But I don't want to get over him," she said. Maka began to smile as the truth finally revealed itself to her in its full, stubborn form. "I want to be with him!"

The sisters exchanged matching grins. "Hell yeah! You go tell him!"

After spending almost all day lying around and feeling sorry for herself, Maka was invigorated. She snatched her long black coat out of the closet and shoved her feet into her shoes. There was no time at all to waste. As the three sped through the door, Patty grabbed the half-eaten bag of chips on her way out.

"Don't worry about a cab," Liz said while they ran down the stairs. She held up a pair of fancy car keys. "We're taking the Jag."

They had about 50 minutes to make it to Soul's terminal, but considering traffic and the long lines at security, they needed to buy some time. The Jag, provided courtesy of Death the Kid for Liz's 18th birthday, packed enough power to get them to the airport in record time. They just needed to call and make sure Soul would stay put until they arrived. Once they were already speeding down the highway, Maka realized that in her rush she had forgotten her cell at home. Not missing a beat, Patty whipped out her phone and tapped in Soul's number while Liz stomped on the accelerator and turned down the radio.

He answered on the first ring. When Patty tried to hand the phone over to Maka, she shook her head in a panic. She didn't know what she was going to say or how to say it. Earlier she had swore that she would not appeal to his loyalty to keep him with her because that would be selfish and wrong. She had to appeal to his love, assuming there was any she could appeal to, and that was something that couldn't happen over the phone.

Patty spoke to him herself. "Soul, hi," the younger demon pistol said. "It's just me, all by myself. Where are you?" After a beat of silence Patty's eyes went wide. "On the _airplane? _Wow, I must have really mixed up your departure time." She shot Maka a pointed glance. "Listen...you shouldn't be on that plane. There's something wrong with it, and you're gonna crash and die if you take off." Now it was Maka and Liz's turn to look horrified and shocked. "Well, it's your funeral. And Maka's, I guess. Do you believe people can die of grief and anguish? Anyways, I'll skype you when-_if_ you get there. Bye!"

Before Patty hung up, Maka could hear Soul yelling into the phone. How lost in love was she if even the sound of his voice over the phone made her feel more at home? "Patty, what the hell was that?" Liz snapped. "You think that is really gonna ground the plane?"

"I planted the seed, sister," Patty said. "The doubt will do its own work."

When they arrived, the airport was in turmoil. Several flights were deplaned due to rumors of sabotage. Many passengers just refused to fly out of the airport altogether, and they had packed outside the front doors so they could hail cabs and book hotels.

The commotion in and around the airport allowed the three girls to sneak their way around the

"Soul!" Maka called. Not hearing her, Soul handed his boarding pass to the flight attendant and started down the tight hallway, out of sight. Even after their miraculous stalling, she may already be too late. A TSA agent gently put his hand on her shoulder, and Maka violently shrugged it off. "Excuse me, I have someone to talk to!"

"M'am, you can't go back there without a boarding pass."

It was Liz who finally shrugged passed security and screamed at the top of her lungs, "SOUL!"

A figure with a shock of white hair reemerged from the gate, and Maka didn't need to see past the TSA agent to know that it was her partner. Starved for his touch, her wavelength leapt across the room to meet his, and they immediately intertwined. Airport security forgotten, Maka was pulled towards Soul, who in turn approached her with an expression of bafflement and awe.

"Maka?" He said her name like a man seeing the light for the first time. Blinking he quickly added, "Liz and Patty too? What are you guys doing here?"

The Thompson sisters had restrained the TSA agent, and Patty wrestled her free hand out of the agent's armpit to give Maka a thumbs up. "It's all you!"

"What?" Soul asked, worried. "What's going on? I made them check out the plane, it should be working just fine."

They locked eyes, and Maka's face immediately heated up. Oh Death, this was much more difficult than she imagined it would be. "The thing is...don't go."

"What?" Their soul wavelengths coiled tightly together. Whether it was her clinging to him with all her might or him clinging to her, Maka couldn't tell. What she could sense was the waves of confusion rolling off her former weapon.

"Please stay with me," she said thickly. Maka was aware that she sounded a little desperate and a lot heartsick, but she had already screwed up this confession once. Subtlety was never her ally, and it was time that she embraced her bluntness and just told him what she had meant to say for many years. "I love you. And I know you love me too. I know I shouldn't have waited until now, and I know it's selfish of me to come after you, but...just please don't leave." Her wavelength was absolutely wretched with emotion.

Soul did not appear to be breathing at all when a voice called over the intercom for the last passengers to board his flight. He looked over his shoulder, and when he looked back at Maka, his face was bloodless. "I can't do this right now," he said, almost in a daze. "I-they are all waiting for me, everyone is expecting me, I have to go."

Reluctant yet forceful, Soul's wavelength ripped itself away from Maka. The sensation of losing contact with him was so abrupt that it seared up her ribcage. "Soul, no! Don't, please-"

"I'm sorry," Soul repeated before turning on his heel and walking briskly towards the gate and down the gangway.

It was all over so fast, Maka's heart didn't seem to know it was broken, not yet. She covered her mouth in shock and stood stock still as the Thompson sisters enveloped her in their sisterly embrace.

The car ride home was quiet. Liz and Patty weren't strangers to upheaval or abandonment, so they knew well to leave Maka alone while she stared out the car window.

If Maka's apartment felt empty before, it was downright desolate when she returned. There was no point in holding out for her weapon now. Her Deathscythe, her Soul Eater, had finally and blatantly rejected her. She confessed what she intended to confess, and in the end Soul responded the exact way she expected him too. It was time to put her daydreams and fantasies to bed for good, no matter how hard it would be.

She thought about their last night together and fury inflamed her chest and throat. What an asshole. What a fucking, thoughtless, exploitive _asshole. _How dare he give her a taste of a fantasy come true and then take it away from her.

Intent upon unleashing her anger upon her Soul-scented pillow, Maka stomped back into her room. Her phone was beeping on her bed. She picked it up, but instead of finding a dozen consolatory messages from her friends, her phone held a single voice mail. Her thumb hovered over the 'Delete' button for a moment before pressing 'Play.'

"Maka." Soul's voice sounded really thick and uncertain. "I just saw you, in the airport. Five minutes ago. Just wanted to say I was sorry, again. I-argh, fuck-I didn't mean to be such a jerk. Everyone was looking at me and waiting for me, and I panicked. Needed to get out of there. I didn't know what to do. _I thought this was what you wanted._"

She covered mouth to stifle a gasp. Soul's voice became grainy and tight as he started to ramble. "It's always been your dream to make a weapon that surpassed your dad, but even though I'm a deathscythe I'm not there yet, not good enough. This was the next thing I had to do, the next step. Plus you're going to college and I'm not, and-God it's so selfish-I didn't want to watch while you met new people and started...and yeah, obviously I love you too."

There was a small intake of breath on the recording, and then an amused snort. "That's so much easier to say out loud when you aren't looking at me," Soul remarked. "I love you. I. Love. You. I love you. Holy shit, I gotta see you. I need to tell you in person. I need to-_shiiiiiiit_."

There were some audible bumps and groans. Soul was clearly on the move. "Excuse me," Maka heard Soul say with authority. At this point, her weapon had completely forgotten about his cell phone or the still-recording voicemail. "I need to get back to Death City, it's urgent."

"Sir, please sit down," a smooth feminine voice responded. "The plane is in taxi and all passengers must-"

"Please, I can't sit down. I really need to get off this plane."

"We have your luggage-"

"I'll get them back eventually, just let me off the motherfucking plane!"

"Sir, I'm warning you-"

"No lady, _I'm_ warning _you_-"

The recording ended with an abrupt dial tone.

Maka stood stock still for a moment, mouth agape, before yelling into the phone. "What?!" She was very close to crushing it in her pale hand. "What happened? Did he do it? Did he get off the plane?"

"I got off the plane."

She whirled around to find Soul standing in her bedroom doorway, panting from exertion. While listening to his candid voicemail, Maka was too distracted to sense her weapon's approach. Judging by his windswept hair and flushed cheeks, he must have rushed up all four flights of stairs to catch her.

Their wavelengths leapt together first, and their bodies followed close behind. Maka moved with both grace and speed as threw her arms around him and jumped onto the tips of her toes. Their mouths met in a flurry of hot, needy kisses, and Soul wrapped his arms around her torso and scooped her off the floor. With her feet dangling off the ground, her heart bursting, and her senses overwhelmed with all that was _Soul, _the heavy weight that had plagued her for so many weeks had finally lifted.

After she made sure he was good and well kissed, Maka wiggled out of his grasp and punched him on the arm. Hard. "What is _wrong _with you? Why didn't you mention you loved me earlier? There were plenty of opportunities last night, you dumbass. How the hell was that supposed to be a goodbye?"

"I really thought it was a goodbye!" Soul growled, rubbing his sore bicep. "You were yelling at me back at Kid's about goodbyes, and then you were kissing me, and I thought 'Gee, maybe these two events are related.' You never said you loved me last night either, Miss Mixed Signals."

"I should send your ass right back to Oceania."

Maka did no such thing.


End file.
